Making of Maple Syrup
Source Illustration: Francis Kagige, Tales of Nokomis.

The making of maple syrup is an activity which is found wherever maple trees grow. The sugar content in the maple syrup is a valuable commodity for us as it was for our ancestors. However, maple sugar production is not an easy task. THE LEGEND OF NOKOMIS, (The Land) tells us how the making of maple syrup became so labour intensive.
Timing and temperature were major concerns for our ancestral maple syrup producers. In the springtime, Mother Earth has to start the sap running by making the outdoor temperatures warm during the day and just above freezing at night. The running time of the sap is short and the start of the season can vary up to four weeks each spring. When the season starts, it is a twenty four-hour operation. Therefore, the village maple producer had to be ready ahead of time.

The producers made their own white poplar bark baskets in the winter before the sap began to run. Some of the baskets were large enough to hold the sap before boiling; others were smaller to hold the finished product. The baskets were made from wide strips of knot-free white poplar bark. Spruce gum was used as a sealer to make them as waterproof as possible. The baskets containing the finished product also had airtight lids.
French Engraving of 1734, Hodenosaunee Women making maple syrup and cooking. Illustration Source: 500 Nations, Page 44
It was very important that these containers were properly sealed. If condensation or dirt was allowed to seep into the syrup during storage, there was a risk that the syrup could form sugar crystals or spoil due to fermentation. Clean, properly sealed containers allowed maple syrup to be stored for longer periods of time. Quality was an important issue since maple producers prided themselves on the clean amber gold colour of the syrup.
Photo Source: Naabia Niign Ltd.
Once the containers were made, firewood was selected and split. . Spruce and jackpine were used at the beginning of sap processing, for fast burning and intense heat. Harder, longer burning woods, such as young maple, were used for simmering, because they produced a lower, steadier heat.

Only after all the other preparations were finished, was a maple grove of proven quality and yield chosen for tapping. Because of all the time and effort put in to preparation, maple gatherers wanted to be assured a high yield. The most mature and wide trees were selected for the tapping.
Source Photo: Spruce Trees
Taps were made from birch, carved into spigots of uniform size. Gatherers would carve a hole in the tree large enough to fit a spigot on the south or south-east side (which is the warm side) of the tree. The hole would be deep enough to access the running sap. The spigot was tapped into the tree, and one of the large poplar baskets was hung under the spigot. This operation was very labour intensive, as baskets had to be watched constantly to make sure nothing was wasted.

French Engraving of 1734, Hodenosaunee women and men gathering maple syrup from tapped trees. Illustration Source: 500 Nations, Page 44.


While it was an extremely busy time, it was also a time which families spent together. Whole extended families were engaged in gathering sap and making syrup. Archaeological evidence tells us that maple harvest was also a time of great feasting and thanksgiving. For at least five thousand years, regular seasonal feasting occurred in communities along the Saskatchewan River from Mihistipihistigok, Manitoba to Pahonan, Saskatchewan.

Pahonan means the waiting place. There is evidence a large spring feast occurred at Pahonan.
Thomas Conant's Upper Canada Sketches in the late 19th century, illustrates natives with local settlers from the back country gathering and preparing sap for maple sugar.

Historical note: The Abenaki’s of Quebec were the first to show the French settlers along the St. Lawrence River how to make maple syrup. To this day, the process of the maple sugaring operation has not changed.

For additional infomation and references, click here!